Mosley: F1 Future Depends on Independent Teams

Formula One's future health depends on independent teams because the car makers will come and go, the sport's governing body said today.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) released a letter sent by president Max Mosley to the 10 team principals last Friday to outline proposed changes to the engine regulations from 2004 and to invite comment.

In it, Mosley effectively fired the first salvo in a war of words with the manufacturers who openly oppose plans to introduce long-life engines to cut costs and help struggling teams stay in business.

"The way to guarantee the long-term health and stability of the championship is to make sure there is a solid group of independent teams which do not depend on the presence of the manufacturers for their survival," he said.

"We can rely on the independent teams. We cannot rely on the manufacturers.

"Although their presence is very welcome, the car manufacturers will come and go as it suits them -- they have always done this and they always will. After all, they are responsible to their shareholders, not to motor sport."

Two independent teams, Prost and Arrows, folded in 2002 and others are struggling to raise sponsorship. The new season will start with just 20 cars on a grid designed for 24.

The FIA letter elaborated on proposals first put to team principals at a meeting in London on January 15 but overshadowed by more immediate changes introduced for the 2003 season starting in Australia on March 9.

Unsustainable Expense

The main steps are for teams to be limited to only one engine per car per weekend in 2004. In 2005, engines must last two races and in 2006 that will be stretched to six. At present, teams can get through several engines per car in the course of a single weekend.

Mosley said it cost an independent team $20 million for a supply of engines for the season, a cost that could come down to less than $10 million for 2004, $5 million for 2005 and ultimately $1.6 million in 2006.

"In three years we would have gone from an absurd and unsustainable $20 million per team to just $1.6 million. At $100,000 per race this is still very expensive, but is probably manageable," he said.

Mosley said that if costs came down, the sport could look forward to full grids and would be able to withstand the likely departure of some manufacturers.

The seven currently involved are Ferrari, Ford, BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Toyota and Honda. FIAT-owned Ferrari have started every Grand Prix season since 1950 while Toyota made their debut in 2002.

The five European carmakers have also drawn up plans to run their own championship from the end of 2007, when an existing 'Concorde Agreement' between the teams, FIA and commercial rights holders expires.

The six-race engine has been fiercely opposed, with Renault's Patrick Faure saying that the French carmaker would quit if such a "tractor engine" were introduced.

"The plan for an engine for six races is the end of Formula One. We will not stay in the Championship with these kind of rules, clearly, none of us," he said last month.

No Difference

Mosley said he quite understood that the first reaction of some Formula One fans would be negative but nobody in the grandstands or watching on television would notice any difference.

He said the likely 700 horsepower and 16,000 rpm available from a six-race engine, well down on the 900 plus horsepower and 19,000 rpm, would still be comparable to the best Formula One engines available as recently as 1996.

Smaller teams would also have more competitive engines as clearly none could use the previous year's version.

"In fact, the only real problem with the six-race engine is finding a well-balanced scale of penalties for premature engine change which is enough to deter systematic changes without putting the driver concerned out of contention in the Championship," said Mosley.

The FIA head said that although the deadline for approval of the measures was October 31, 2003, it would be better for the package, which includes the use of standard systems and long-life components, to be decided at an early date.